Boob wars

Now I am sure, those of you following from my earliest days of motherhood will remember that Ivy never breastfed? That has been a source of guilt for me, and persists because Olive still breastfeeds. Ivy never cared until recently.

I think this has happened because Olive’s breastfeeding has increased a little again lately. Rather than only at night time and bedtime, she has been demanding a comfort feed just before dinner time, or whenever she is especially grizzly.

Ivy wants in. I always wanted her to understand that she is always welcome to ‘boobie’. She does not know what to do, so all she really wants is to cuddle me, putting her cheek onto the boob (it has to be, er, out- not in clothes or a bra).

Olive, being pretty rubbish at sharing, really struggles to accept this. When she feeds, she rests her hand proprietorially (annoyingly) across my body to my spare boob. Ivy’s blissfully happy boob-cuddling interferes with this. Both girls will wail and complain if their will is thwarted, but usually O will grumpily lapse into her remaining breast with the spare hand much closer to her. It is an uneasy compromise though, and the two of them irritate each other, O’s little hand absent-mindedly scootching over to its habitual position.

It is a new thing. I’m not a fan, and I’m not sure what to do. I want to be fair to Ivy, but it’s also hard to explain to such a little person that their personal one-to-one mummy time, which they have had from birth now has to be split.